Coin Encyclopedia
Search and identify coins from around the world — with country, denomination, metal, mint, history, and how to tell them apart.
2.5 Escudos
A copper-nickel 2.5 Escudos of the Portuguese Republic, showing a sailing caravel on the obverse and the national shield with the value 2$50.
Modern
Najd Silver Coin
Silver trade coin catalogued to Najd, central Arabia, bearing a left-facing Victoria Queen bust and an 1862 date in the British India rupee style.
Arabia
Roman Imperial Denarius (Unidentified)
A silver denarius of the Roman Empire, 2nd century AD, showing an emperor's right-facing curly-haired portrait and a standing imperial reverse type.
Ancient
Congolese Commemorative Coin
An 1889 holed copper 10-centime coin of the Congo Free State, with a radiant five-pointed star, the value 10 C, and a ring of small stars.
World
France 2 Euro Bleuet de France Commemorative
A French bi-metallic 2 euro commemorative showing the Bleuet de France cornflower, France's remembrance flower, paired with the shared European 2 euro side.
Commemorative
Five Guineas of Anne
Queen Anne's largest gold coin, the celebrated 1703 issue struck with VIGO below the bust from gold captured at the Battle of Vigo Bay.
Milled
500 Yen Japanese Immigration Commemorative
A 2008 Japanese 500 yen commemorative marking 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, with two figures on one side and a ship on the other.
Commemorative
India 1 Rupee Commemorative
Copper-nickel Republic of India one rupee showing the Ashoka Lion Capital emblem, with the value and Devanagari legends on the reverse, from the late 20th century.
Modern India
India Four Anna
An early Republic of India quarter rupee (four annas) of 1950, showing the Ashoka Lion Capital emblem with radiating rays and the country name INDIA.
Modern India
Columbia South Carolina Sesquicentennial Half Dollar
A 1936 U.S. silver half dollar marking 150 years of Columbia as South Carolina's capital; Justice with scales between two statehouses, palmetto reverse.
Classic Commemorative
Triple Unite
The largest English hammered gold coin, struck for Charles I during the Civil War and valued at 60 shillings (three pounds).
Hammered
8 Escudos (Carolus)
The largest Spanish gold coin of the age, the 8 Escudos or doubloon, struck under the Habsburg Carolus rulers with the crowned quartered royal arms.
Early Modern
Five Guineas of George II
The largest English gold coin of George II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a crowned heraldic shield of the royal arms on the reverse.
Milled
100 Soles de Oro
Peru's largest gold Sol de Oro—a heavy .900 gold coin of the Lima Mint. This reverse-only 1965 example shows a fortress emblem and CASA DE MONEDA DE LIMA.
Circulation
Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 (Octagonal)
An eight-sided $50 gold commemorative struck for San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, showing Minerva and her owl — the largest U.S. coin of its era.
Classic Commemorative
Egypt 20 Qirsh
The 20 qirsh was Egypt's largest silver coin under the Khedivate, bearing the Ottoman sultan's tughra; this example dates to 1905.
World
French Half Ecu (Demi-Ecu)
A silver half ecu of Louis XVI dated 1792, with his bust left and a standing winged genius reverse reading L'AN 4 DE LA LIBERTE.
Royal
Charles II Five Guineas
The largest English gold coin of Charles II's reign, showing his laureate profile and a cruciform arrangement of crowned shields on the reverse.
Milled
Denarius of Trajan
Silver denarius of the emperor Trajan (98–117 AD), showing his laureate bust and, on this piece, Libertas standing with patera and rod.
Ancient
1 Franc Semeuse
A small silver French franc showing Roty's Semeuse, the striding Sower scattering seed at dawn, with the 1916 date on the LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE reverse.
Circulation
1 Franc Ceres
A small silver French franc showing the head of Cérès, goddess of the harvest, wearing wheat and a star, with the LIBERTE EGALITE FRATERNITE reverse dated 1871.
Circulation
Glycon Bronze Coin
Roman provincial bronze of the 2nd century AD showing the snake-god Glycon: a bearded serpent head on one side and a coiled snake on the other.
Ancient
20 Fillér
An early 20th-century Hungarian 20 fillér, a small base-metal coin showing the crowned Hungarian coat of arms and the FILLÉR minor denomination.
Modern
Wu Zhu Cash
A round Han-dynasty bronze cash coin with a central square hole and two seal-script characters, Wu Zhu, naming its weight of five zhu.
Cash Coin